


This Year's Love

by mariposaroja



Category: MotoGP RPF, Motorcycling RPF
Genre: AU, M/M, University AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-02-26
Packaged: 2018-09-27 04:00:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9959375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariposaroja/pseuds/mariposaroja
Summary: There is no such thing as accident; it is fate misnamed.Marc and Dani: Ten ways they meet





	

**Author's Note:**

> I really don't know why I'm doing this to myself but I'm trying to get the juices flowing again and I cannot find the first half of the next chapter of HSTAL that I have written for months -_- (EDIT: It has been found!!! ... on my computer under HTSAL 42... Wonder what it was doing there...) 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

Walking into the lecture hall, Dani only glanced up momentarily at the rowdy group of students that had begun to gather, casting a tight smile at no-one in particular. There were over a hundred students in this class, and yet it was just his luck that he lay eyes on _him_ , a pair of chocolate brown eyes boring into him (he was sure to the student it was just a casual glance, but…). Like an idiot, he gave him a curt nod before making his way over to the podium, busying himself with setting up his presentation from the University-branded memory stick that he’d brought with him.

As the program booted up, Dani risked a sly glance up from beneath his lashes, feeling a twinge of relief mixed with something else when he saw that the person in question was now engaged in animated conversation with the guy sitting next to him in the middle of the room, seven or eight rows back. Chewing on his lip, Dani muttered a few choice words to himself when the system froze. Again. _Fucking technology._

*****

“You know,” drawing out those two short words, Marc turned to face his best friend with a smirk, “I would bet anything that Pedrosa actually thinks you’re part of this class. You attend more often than people who are _actually_ registered for it.”

“I’m never betting against you ever again after the last time,” Tito reminded him, “You took me for almost everything I have, bankrupted me.” No, he wouldn’t bet against Marc again, not on this one anyway, seeing as the younger man was probably (definitely) right. He reminded himself once again of the need to sort out his priorities.

Marc scoffed, only because it would take some bet to bankrupt Tito “son of a millionaire” Rabat. “ _Sure._ Seriously though, you should have applied to take it as an extra module. If you’re going to insist on accompanying me to these lectures then you might as well take advantage of it.”

“Pff, I’d rather not sit a three hour exam on quantum mechanics to be perfectly honest. I’ll leave that one to you.”

“It’s a lot easier than it sounds,” the younger man argued, getting that same embarrassed reddening of his cheeks that he does every time someone’s jaw would drop when he told them what he was studying.

“I’ve attended, what? All but two of the lectures this semester and I still haven’t got a fucking _clue_ what the guy is talking about.”

Marc didn’t get a achance to reply to that. The moment he opened his mouth to make a counter argument, the lecturer, Dr Pedrosa, called the hall to attention. Instead, he shifted in his seat to find a comfortable position, bringing his pen to his lips as he flipped through his refill pad to pick up where he’d left off three days previous.

*****

Marc really loved this class.

It’s a thought that popped into his head every time he sat there, perched almost on the edge of his seat as he devoted his full attention to Dr Pedrosa, who had begun pacing the stage as he always did, clearly not entirely comfortable with over a hundred pairs of eyes on him. If he wasn’t, he did a fantastic job of putting it all to the side to teach the subject he was so clearly passionate about.

And Marc lapped it up, every word of it.

While turning over yet another page in his notebook, the undergrad cast a quick glance at his best friend, shaking his head in disbelief when he found Tito with his chin propped up on his palm and his eyes loosely closed. Nudging the other man so that his arm slipped and his head fell suddenly forward, Marc smirked before turning his attention back to the lecturer. When Pedrosa absentmindedly pulled up one rogue dress shirt sleeve that dared to fall all the way down to his wrist, Marc shifted uncomfortably, bottom lip caught between his teeth.

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t _just_ Dr Dani Pedrosa’s incredible brain that made this module his favourite… When the lecturer was, well, not so bad to look at it certainly added to his enjoyment of the class. So he listened intently, jotting down everything he thought might possibly be necessary in an exam situation, practically the perfect student. But then he also laughed at all Pedrosa’s anecdotes, smiled to himself and nodded eagerly when the lecturer brings up a point that Marc himself had just been thinking of. All but swoons when their eyes met every now and again and he can see the passion in those mocha coloured orbs…

He knew he should probably feel some sort of shame about the whole thing but he really just… didn’t. It’s not as if he went around proclaiming his attraction to his lecturer from the rooftops, so he thought it was okay that he might laugh a little too hard at an attempt at a joke, smile a little too brightly when it was clear that Pedrosa was talking about something that he clearly loved.

He wanted that- wanted to go to work every day and spend hours talking to students about something that excited him, something that brought him so much happiness. He wanted to look up at his class and find amongst the many bored faces those rare couple that feel the same way about the topic that he did, the ones who were really taking something from it all.

So yeah, he might have had a bit of a hero worship thing going on and, yes, he may have thought once or twice about what other uses Dr Dani Pedrosa’s mouth could be put to. But he wasn’t under any illusion that anything was going to happen between them so, really, what was the harm?

*****

Looking at his watch, Dani decided it was time he dismissed the class, knowing that his students were probably silently, or not so silently, hating him for running five minutes over… again. As they began to file out row by row, he made his way back over to the podium to shut down the various programs he’d been using before the next lecturer came, knowing from experience how incredibly annoying it was when the previous person didn’t leave you with a clean slate.

Of course, the stupid thing decided that it wasn’t going to respond for the second time in as many hours and Dani was mentally planning the complaint he was going to make to the University’s IT department when-

“Dr Pedrosa?”

Dani looked up and, really, he shouldn’t have been surprised as he was because _of course_ it was _him_. “Hi,” he smiled, just as he would with any student, “What can I do for you Mr…?”

“Marquez- uh, Marc.”

“Marc,” he nodded.

“I, uh, came across a reference to a conference paper written by you on the Zeeman effect and I can’t seem to find it on any of the databases… I was just wondering if you could point me in the right direction?”

Dani could only blink for a moment and was pretty sure that he looked like an idiot all the while. The request, although innocuous, came as a bit of a surprise. He was sure that 99 percent of his students would only read one of his papers under extreme duress. “Oh, okay. I have a copy of it on my laptop at home somewhere. Although, I have to warn you, it’s not exactly a page-turner…”

Marc laughed at that, surprising even himself at how naturally, as his fingers play with the spiral of his notebook, just for something to do. “You may say that but I think that every book that isn’t about quantum mechanics is just a waste of time to be honest.”

 _Oh god._ He can’t argue with that one. “If only more people thought like you. I take it you’re enjoying the module then?”

“Definitely. Actually, it’s my favourite I’ve taken so far.”

 _Is that so_? “Really? It’s usually one that students ensure only because they have to if they actually want to get their degree.”

Marc, almost considering that blasphemy, gave a little shrug. “I don’t know, I think when you love something you just… love it. Like, I can’t see how anyone could find this boring but I guess you either like it or you don’t. Luckily I happen to like it. A lot.”

“Then I’ll make sure to track that paper down for you. Maybe- if you ever find yourself with enough motivation to finish it- tell me what you think? Just send me an email or…” _Don’t do it_ “Come up to me after class and we can discuss it over coffee or something.”

Never in a million years would Marc ever be able to say no to that. Although he knew very well that he should opt for the email… “That’s sounds great. I’d love the chance to pick your brain about a couple of things.”

 _What on earth am I getting myself in for?_ “Well, feel free,” Dani’s smile was completely genuine this time, despite the slight tension in his stomach that was telling him this could be a bad idea, “My office is always open.”


End file.
